An IFAD-supported
network invested in reaching the
full food potential of crops in Africa

14 March 2019,
Kampala, Uganda – This is a project borne of
a vision shared by the Integrated Breeding Platform
(IBP), the Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) and the
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD),
that achieving food security can only come from the
resolve and engagement of national actors across the
crop delivery chain.

They are joined by
national agricultural research organizations (NARS),
universities, seed businesses and farming
communities to work on enhancing breeding processes
for climate-resilient crops, bridging gaps so that
improved varieties effectively reach farmers’
fields. A proof of concept is currently underway in
three target countries – Ghana, Senegal and Uganda –
with the following five crops: rice, groundnut,
common bean, cowpea, and sorghum.

“In my 30+ years
career in agriculture, I have witnessed the great
work done by scientists to develop and deliver large
numbers of new varieties over the years. Yet, the
rural poor families in Africa are still not getting
the information they need to grow and produce them
to satisfy demands, and thus we miss out on
realizing their full potential for them to
contribute to Africa becoming fully self-sufficient.
Meanwhile, the million tons of food imported each
year continue to disrupt African economies. A
project like this one contributes to the efforts in
bridging this information gap, and I strongly
believe it is the way we need to go now. It’s not
just about varietal development, but it is about
preparing ourselves to effectively scale them out
through expanding our reach across the value chain,”
stated Dr Harold Roy-Macauley, Director General of
AfricaRice.

·
Improving data management and digitalizing breeding,
namely through the use of the IBP’s Breeding
Management System (BMS)

·
Upscaling breeding programs to
have them test new genetic resources and use
molecular markers

·Ensuring some minimal
capacity enhancement (human and infrastructure),
namely through the integration of PhD and MSc
students to the project.

Dr Jean-Marcel Ribaut,
IBP Director, explains: “In the end, what we really
want is to provide farmers with the tools, germplasm
and knowledge they need in order to know what
crop to grow in response to local market demand.
The project is therefore designed around
implementing truly demand-led breeding programs,
where the needs of farmers (what to grow, when and
how) and extensionists (processing and disseminating
new products), with the input, and under the
coordination, of breeders (who know what is
available and possible to deliver) are all
considered in a continuum. For this to work, it has
to be backed up by a solid network of engaged
partners, the adoption of good practices, the
deployment and use of the latest technologies in a
realistic context and in an appropriate
infrastructure, and a good level of capacity and
expertise.”

Plans for rolling out
of the project components were further solidified
during the project’s first annual meeting, held from
4 to 8 March 2019 in Kampala, Uganda, with the
participation of representatives from national
programs, universities, seed businesses and farming
communities from Ghana, Senegal and Uganda, as well
as of international partner organizations, under the
coordination of representatives from the IBP,
AfricaRice, and IFAD. PhD and MSc students from the
Makerere Regional Center for Crop Improvement (MaRCCI),
Uganda, also participated as integrating their work
within project activities is at the heart of the
project’s vision of success.

“I recognize the
importance of having NARS involved in project
planning and implementation, and even more so, that
the project initiatives be aligned with country
research priorities and strategies. It will be
critical to achieve the project’s goals. Indeed,
this approach lays a strong foundation to move
forward where research initiatives are
country-driven, and we are now seeing clear plans as
to what each partner in this project will contribute
to make it happen. This is very important to all of
us, and to me personally, as I believe NARS are key
to the transformation of agriculture in Sub-Saharan
Africa. I trust we will be able to rely on each
other to bring our project to successful fruition,”
concludes Dr Malu Muia Ndavi, IFAD Lead Technical
Specialist/AR4D Special Initiatives Manager.
---

Project Annual
Meeting guest list

With the participation
of representatives from the IBP, AfricaRice, IFAD,
and:

This is a three-year
(2019-2021) and 2.5M project awarded by IFAD to the
Integrated Breeding Platform (IBP) and hosted at the
AfricaRice Center, under the title: Enhancing
institutional breeding capacity in Ghana, Senegal
and Uganda to develop climate-resilient crops for
African smallholder farmers.
The overall goal is to contribute to enhanced food
security and poverty alleviation by increasing
small-holder productivity and income in the three
target countries. It will do so by supporting the
development and dissemination of improved crop
cultivars that have characteristics that meet
farmers’ needs and market
demands, as well as able to mitigate agro-ecological
challenges. Building on several ongoing projects,
this initiative brings the resources to cover
the last mile of a number of activities, to start
new ones, and to implement a network of partners
along the crop value chain, all the while supporting
a strong capacity building component. Ultimately, it
aims to reach 30,000 smallholder
farmers (10,000/country) for the adoption of
‘fit-for-purpose’ varieties, by linking with
on-going national agricultural plans led by NARS –
an imperative condition of the Science Agenda for
Agriculture in Africa (S3A) to secure food security
over the next 10 years.

AfricaRice headquarters is based in Côte d’Ivoire. Staff are located in
Côte d’Ivoire and also in AfricaRice Research Stations in Benin,
Liberia, Madagascar, Nigeria, and Senegal. For more information
visit:
www.AfricaRice.org

About CGIAR

CGIAR is a global research partnership for a
food-secure future. CGIAR science is dedicated to reducing poverty,
enhancing food and nutrition security, and improving natural resources
and ecosystem services. Its research is carried out by 15 CGIAR Centers
in close collaboration with hundreds of partners, including national and
regional research institutes, civil society organizations, academia,
development organizations and the private sector.
www.cgiar.org

Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice)

AfricaRice is a CGIAR Research Center –
part of a global research partnership
for a food-secure future.

It is also an intergovernmental association of
African member countries.